A familiar energy was being emanated by that massive island. It was the killing intent unique to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe!
The reason he did not notice it immediately was because the killing intent lost its violent nature when mixed with the mercury-like spiritual energy of the Azure, making it feel warm.
In any case, the presence of the killing intent meant that there were Otherworldly Demons on the island. Could the ‘indigenous population’ that Pavilion Master Kui Xiao had spoken about refer to them?
That would explain the origin of the Otherworldly Demons!
They must have somehow slipped into the Master Teacher Continent by breaching the dimension barrier, thus bringing a huge catastrophe upon the lifeforms there.
With such thought in mind, Zhang Xuan quickly took a closer look at the figures walking around the massive city, but what he saw simply left him even more bewildered.
They were all roughly the size of ordinary humans, and there was nothing odd about them. They did not have the bloodthirsty and savage presence of Otherworldly Demons.
Could his senses have been off?
Back when I was in the Kunxu Domain, the Otherworldly Demons that were exposed to the mercury-like spiritual energy lost their bloodthirsty and violent nature. This is probably the cause of the anomaly, Zhang Xuan thought.
Ancient Sage Yan Qing and the others had done experiments on the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to test out their tolerance to the mercury-like spiritual energy, and they had proved that those who managed to withstand the ordeal would gain properties similar to those of ordinary humans.
“Starchaser Palace is located at the very center of the island. If we fly in directly, we might end up sparking a conflict, so we’ll get off just ahead,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao told Zhang Xuan.
The aerial immortal beast pulled the carriage down, and soon, they landed on a platform.
As soon as they landed, a group of metal-armored guards marched over.
Elder Hong Wu walked over and passed his token over. The guards took a look at the token before opening a path ahead.
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Zhang Xuan assessed the two guards in front of him carefully.
Just as he had guessed, they were indeed Otherworldly Demons who had absorbed the mercury-like spiritual energy. Furthermore, they dressed the same as the ‘deities’ from the heavens who had descended to the Master Teacher Continent.
Could they be on the receiving end of the rituals conducted by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe on the Master Teacher Continent?
If that was the case, could the ‘female deity’ who had taken Sovereign Chen Yong away and claimed that she knew of Luo Ruoxin’s whereabouts possibly be an expert from Starchaser Palace?
It seemed like he would have to look into this matter then.
“Our Sevenstar Pavilion has a branch here. Elder Liu, I’ll take you there before helping you gather the items you require to achieve a breakthrough to the Heavenly High Immortal realm,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said.
Zhang Xuan nodded in response.
The group quickly made their way down the streets.
The city was extremely large, boasting a scale greater even than that of Biyuan City. If Zhang Xuan had not been too confident in his deduction earlier, he was certain of it now that he was making his way through the streets.
Those living here on Starchaser Island were all Otherworldly Demons.
Their bloodthirst and savagery had been neutralized by the mercury-like spiritual energy, but they remained a deeply belligerent race. As such, they were extremely hostile toward outsiders.
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao noticed that Zhang Xuan was looking around, so he sent a telepathic message over. “Even though we have a branch here, we are still deemed as outsiders. We do conduct trade with them, but we don’t have any close ties in the city. We also don’t intend to put too much focus on building relations here, or else it might just backfire on us.”
Zhang Xuan could relate to those words. It was not that the Otherworldly Demons were heartless creatures that only knew of slaughter, but it was a fact that they did have warlike tendencies.
If things did not go according to their wishes, their primary instinct was to resort to violence, especially if the other party was not one of their own. As such, it was not easy to forge relations with them.
Given so, it would be best to minimize interactions to the bare minimum, or else it would only spell trouble.
This was the same for Zhang Xuan. He was an invincible existence back on the Master Teacher Continent, but over here, there were probably plenty who were able to defeat him. Thus, it was best for him to exercise prudence.
After walking for roughly two hours, a Sevenstar Pavilion branch came into sight. Just like the headquarters located in Biyuan City, there were many treasures on display, but their tiers clearly paled in comparison.
As soon as they stepped in, the manager immediately received them warmly and prepared the best accommodation for them.
“Elder Liu, you should rest here for the time being. I’ll go and prepare the resources you need,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said.
“If I may ask, what do you intend to prepare?” Zhang Xuan asked curiously. “Even though Lesser High Immortal and Heavenly High Immortal are cultivation stages in the same realm, it shouldn’t be too easy to achieve a breakthrough from one to the other within a short period of time. However, it sounds like you have a way that will allow me to achieve a breakthrough quickly.”
Achieving a breakthrough to the High Immortal realm was indeed the greatest hurdle, but it was not as if the path ahead would be easy. Achieving a breakthrough from the Lesser High Immortal realm to the Heavenly High Immortal realm was no simple task.
If one described the True Immortal realm as a pond, the High Immortal realm would be an ocean. It was not too difficult to fill up a pond, but filling up an ocean was truly troublesome. One would have to pay a heavy price if one wanted to hasten the process.
Furthermore, what he was lacking at the moment was not just cultivation resources but cultivation technique manuals as well!
No matter how large an ocean was, as long as one had a river constantly flowing into it, it was only a matter of time before it filled up.
However, he had not even constructed a river to his ocean yet. If he relied on rainwater falling into it, how long would it be before it was filled to the brim?
Under such circumstances, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao claimed that he would be able to help him achieve a breakthrough. Thus, Zhang Xuan could not help but be curious about what was it that made the other party so confident.
“It’s said that a Semi-Divinity realm beast once appeared in the Ocean of Exiled Stars. As long as I am able to capture it and procure its blood and beast core, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to reach the Heavenly High Immortal realm.” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao revealed his thoughts.
“A Semi-Divinity realm beast?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “Didn’t you mention that one needs to challenge the Azure Bridge in order to reach the Semi-Divinity realm?”
Based on what had been said thus far, it sounded like the slots to challenge the Azure Bridge were dominated by the Six Sects. It did not seem likely that those from the Beast Tribe would have an opportunity to slip in.
Upon hearing the question, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao quickly looked around him warily before sending a telepathic message over. “That’s indeed the case, but there has been an exception to that recently. Two months ago, in a certain part of the Ocean of Exiled Stars, the sky has collapsed, and something fell to the ground. It touched the rocks nearby, turning them fiery crimson in color. No flames and weapons were able to harm the rocks at all. If Heavenly High Immortal realm beasts come into close contact with it, they have a chance of achieving a breakthrough to the Semi-Divinity realm.”
“Rocks? Could they be Godblood Rocks?” Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in astonishment as his body tensed up.
The other reason he had come to the Sea of Exiled Stars was to investigate the origin of the Godblood Rock. He had not thought that Pavilion Master Kui Xiao would have known of its existence.
If the fact that those rocks had turned into Godblood Rocks was not conclusive of anything yet, the fact that even immortal beasts were achieving breakthroughs should at least mean something.
“You know of Godblood Rocks?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao turned his gaze over.
“I’ve heard of them before.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“I read about them in the ancient records. Those rocks are likely Godblood Rocks. If we can capture those Semi-Divinity realm beasts and procure their blood and beast cores, even if it isn’t sufficient to achieve a breakthrough to the Semi-Divinity realm, it should at least be enough for you to make a breakthrough to the Heavenly High Immortal realm,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said.
As the head of the Sevenstar Pavilion, he possessed vast knowledge about artifacts and treasures.
Even without a suitable cultivation technique, the young man should still be able to achieve a breakthrough to the Heavenly High Immortal realm with just the blood and beast cores.
It was just that…
Hunting down Semi-Divinity realm beasts was easier said than done. Putting aside their strength, if they attempted to run away, he was not absolutely confident that he would be able to catch up to them.
Thus, it was only a possibility. He could not guarantee that it could be done.
“May I know where those rocks are located?” Zhang Xuan asked.
He found it hard to curb his agitation, especially since this matter concerned Luo Ruoxin.
“I’m not too sure about the exact location, but I spotted a Semi-Divinity realm beast not too far away from here. If we want to know the location of the Godblood Rocks, we’ll just have to capture that beast and question it. I intend to head over to test out its strength right now. It would be best if it’s weak enough for me to subdue,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said.
Even among Semi-Divinity realm cultivators, there were bound to be differences in their strength.
He had reached the Semi-Divinity realm many years prior. Even though he was not a match for Han Jianqiu, those beasts that had reached the Semi-Divinity realm two months ago should be well within his means to deal with.
As long as those beasts did not possess an overpowered bloodline, he was confident that he would be able to capture them.
“I’d like to follow you to take a look,” Zhang Xuan said.
“You wish to come along?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao frowned.
“Rest assured. Even though my cultivation is only at the Lesser High Immortal realm at the moment, I do have my own self-preservation means. Even if the other party is stronger than me, I’m confident that I’ll be able to get away with ease,” Zhang Xuan assured Pavilion Master Kui.
“Is that so?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao hesitated for a moment before nodding grimly. “Alright then!”
He thought that it would be a good opportunity for this young man to witness the strength of Semi-Divinity realm experts as well so that he would be prepared should he face one of them in the future. At the very most, he would just have the latter watch from afar to avoid getting implicated in the fight.
“Let’s head over then,” Pavilion Master Kui said.
He lowered his cultivation to the Heavenly High Immortal realm before soaring into the sky.
Zhang Xuan quickly followed him.
His cultivation had already reached the High Immortal realm, so even if he did not utilize the Gods’ Sword Intent, he would still be able to maintain his flight.
They traveled for roughly four hours, till all that was around them was water.
The sky had already darkened, and just as Pavilion Master Kui Xiao had said earlier, the starry sky reflected on the clear ocean felt as if the stars had really fallen into the water. These stars drifted across the surface of the water, and it felt as if one could pluck them with the stretch of a hand.
The two of them waited patiently for a moment before a small boat drifted over.
“Pavilion Master Kui…”
Standing atop the boat was an elder dressed completely in green.
Zhang Xuan took a look at the person before him, and he realized that he was unable to see entirely through the person before him. This elder had reached the Heavenly High Immortal realm as well, and his strength was likely higher than that of the First Elder.
“How is it?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao asked.
The elder clasped his fist and said, “Pavilion Master Kui, I placed the item that you gave me into the depths of the ocean a month ago, and it was indeed effective. That Semi-Divinity realm beast arrived here a few days ago, but it was extremely wary. It hasn’t made a move yet.”
“Good. Any beast that is able to survive in the ocean and reach the Heavenly High Immortal realm is bound to have a sharp sense of danger. Otherwise, it would have died long ago,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao said with a smile, not surprised by what he had just heard.
The world of the beasts was even crueler than that of humans. A beast would have to survive till the Heavenly High Immortal realm before having a chance to reach the Semi-Divinity realm.
Those who could live up to that stage were the cream of the crop, possessing an exceptional nose for danger. Otherwise, they would have long fallen prey to other beasts.
“Pavilion Master Kui, I have already set up the formation. As long as we continue biding our time, it will only be a matter of time before the Semi-Divinity realm beast strikes. However, I’m not too sure how long it will take,” the elder replied.
“It’s fine. Let’s head over to take a look!” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao replied as he landed on the boat.
Zhang Xuan quickly followed suit.
